Energy efficiency and environmental impact have become areas of great concern for society. Commercial entities and concerned individuals continue to look for ways to reduce their energy consumption as well as their carbon footprint. Replacing outdated lighting fixtures can reduce both.
Old lighting fixtures are not as efficient as newer ones. The older lighting fixtures, especially fixtures used in traditional retail and office space, are designed to use fluorescent lamps that have a higher energy consumption rate than the more efficient fluorescent lamps available today. The older lighting fixtures also distribute light inefficiently. Traditional lighting fixtures use direct light to light areas. However, direct light can leave areas devoid of light and create shadows. Therefore, these older fixtures have traditionally included more lamps to generate more light to eliminate these shadows, which increases the energy consumption. Even with more lamps used, shadows still exist, creating a less than aesthetically pleasing environment. However, a mixing of indirect light with the direct light can produce uniform light distribution. Therefore, ensuring that there is a proper mixture of direct and indirect light can eliminate many of the shadows created with only direct lighting.
Replacing the old fixtures with more efficient fixtures, however, creates several problems. Replacing the entire fixture is costly and time consuming. In many applications, full access to the ceiling above the fixture is necessary. Therefore, removal and replacement of ceiling components, such as tiles and t-supports, is required to replace the entire fixture. Exposure to the ceiling environment is less than desirable for a variety of reasons. Environmental concerns, such as asbestos contamination and asbestos removal, become an issue when disturbing the ceiling. Moreover, the area above the ceiling collects dirt and dust which can dislodge during fixture replacement and thereby increase the time and cost of clean-up after installation. Additionally, exposed electrical wiring is common in such areas, which creates a safety hazard for workers removing old fixtures. A licensed electrician may be required to install the new fixtures based upon common safety codes.
Most replacement fixtures require replacing the entire fixture, including the housing and the internal fixture components. An alternative to removing the entire fixture is to leave the housing of the fixture installed in the ceiling and only replace the fixture's internal components, thereby eliminating the need for ceiling access. However, light fixture housings, even ones from the same manufacturer, do not have uniform dimensions. Consequently, traditional retrofits have to use components specifically sized and shaped to fit into a specific existing housing. A retrofit that works with one fixture likely will not work with another fixture and thus a retrofit system must be provided for each fixture type. Additionally, the internal components of existing retrofits are attached and aligned with respect to the inner surface of the existing light fixture housings. Because the depths and other dimensions of light fixture housings vary, the light distribution, and more specifically the mixture of direct and indirect light, can vary from housing to housing, requiring the installer to adjust the retrofit components until the desired distribution is achieved. Therefore, there is a need for a retrofit lighting fixture system for updating less efficient fixtures that is universal in that the system can be installed in a variety of existing light fixture housings while delivering a uniform distribution and mixture of direct and indirect light.